Marvelous Tales
by Writing Avenger 2016
Summary: I am Uatu, the Watcher. In this massive and Marvelous universe, I have seen many fantastic and phenomenal tales that have yet to be told or shared. The time for these stories to come to light is now. Stories of my own Marvel Universe that can't fit in Mighty Avengers or Spider-Man. First story: the origins of the Fantastic Four.
1. Fantastic Part 1

"I can't do it." Ben Grimm insisted. "I can't Reed."

"Come on, Ben." Reed Richards insisted. "It's not that bad."

Ben and Reed stood in front of Von Doom Industries, looking up at the massive structure that dominated the New York skyline. They had come a long way to be there, but now that they were, skepticism was beginning to rise to the surface.

"I cannot kiss up to Victor Von Doom, Reed." Ben insisted once again. "I refuse to give that self-righteous, conniving, narcissistic asshole the satisfaction."

"I wouldn't say he's… that self-righteous." Reed tried to reason.

"Reed, he's got a ten foot statue of himself right outside his building." Ben remarked. "Not even Stark is that bold, and that's saying something."

He gestured up to the aforementioned statue, which had Victor Von Doom towering over the walkway into his building.

"Fair enough," Reed conceded. "But Stark wouldn't let us in the front door with my proposal. Victor will."

"Yeah, and take all the credit, royalties, and everything else while leaving us to feed off his scraps." Ben jeered. "You remember how he was back at MIT."

"I remember, but there are more important things than money." Reed reasoned. "If this works, we could help countless people and propel mankind forward lightyears."

Ben still seemed incredibly skeptical, looking up at the statue with pure disdain.

"Come on, Ben." Reed insisted. "In all the years we've known each other, when have I ever asked you to do something you flat out insisted you couldn't do?"

"Five times." Ben answered without missing a beat.

Reed raised an eyebrow in response.

"I had it at four." Reed replied.

"Yeah, well this makes five." Ben remarked as they went inside.

"Come on, Victor isn't that bad." Reed reassured. "He's just… a little larger than life."

…

"Recent astronomical research has suggested that a cloud of cosmic radiation caused a surge in human evolution over 75 million years ago." Reed informed over a massive 3D model. "Satellite readings over the past few months have shown that a cosmic storm of similar properties is due to pass through Earth's orbit in six months time. Now, if we had the chance to study this phenomenon, we could bring about advances in medicine, genetics-"

"Shut it down." a voice interrupted in a thick Eurpoean accent.

"Uh," Reed let out. "If you would let me finish-"

"I think you're quite finished." the voice remarked. "NASA certainly thinks so."

Reed and Ben suddenly looked up in surprise.

"How did you-?" Been started to ask.

"It's part of my job to know these things." Victor interrupted, shutting the model off and turning the lights on.

"Look, Victor," Reed continued, trying to ignore him. "This could be a massive opportunity for everyone. All we need is access to your space station."

"So it's not just my money you're after, it's my things." Victor remarked.

"The shields on the Von Doom space station would shield us from the cosmic rays, allowing us to observe the storm unaffected." Reed explained. "We could then monitor and observe the storm, and its effects on terrestrial elements such as earth and water. Allowing us to analyze the storm and learn how to apply it to everyday life."

Von Doom chuckled slightly in response.

"That's what I've always liked about you, Reed." He replied. "Always stretching. Reaching for the stars."

"Honestly, it's what I love most about him." A female voice suddenly interjected.

The two turned to see a young blonde woman enter the room.

"I don't think I need to introduce you to my new director of genetic research, Susan Storm." Victor commented.

Reed just walked towards Sue and hugged her.

"Hey, Sue." he greeted.

"Hey Reed." Sue replied, kissing him on the cheek. "How's the negotiations going?"

"You know, Victor." He told her. "Likes to play hard to get."

"And impossible to work with." Ben chimed in. "How ya doin, Suzie?"

"Doing good." She answered, hugging him. "Keeping the lights on in the Baxter Building for a few more days."

"Can't thank you enough for that." Reed told her.

She kissed Reed again, then turned to Victor.

"C'mon, Victor." she insisted. "You and I both know Reed is always right. Do you really want to turn down a chance to completely change the way the world looks at the scientific field?"

Victor paused for a moment.

"I will concede the idea shows merit." Victor admitted. "But if I'm funding it, and providing the station… Von Doom Industries gets 75%, as well as applications and patents."

"Are you kidding me?!" Ben let out. "Why not just demand his first born?!"

"25% of a billion isn't so bad." Victor mused. "Might even payoff your mortgage on the Baxter Building. What do you say?"

Reed looked over at Ben and Sue for a moment. Ben seemed hesitant, but Sue just gave a small nod, knowing that this was the best offer they were going to get. Reluctantly, Reed turned back to Victor and held out his hand.

"Let's do it." Reed conceded.

"Terrific." Victor replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "To the future."

…

A few minutes later, the three were in the elevator, heading back for the lobby.

"Well, that went well." Ben remarked.

"We got the deal, Ben." Reed reminded. "I'd call that a win."

"We got had, that's what happened." Ben insisted.

"Look, we don't have to work with him long." Reed informed him. "Just a few days in space, then everything will be fine, trust me. It'll be great"

"Yeah, yeah." Ben replied. "Remind me again why you agreed to work for that guy, Sue?"

"Because he pays well." Sue informed. "And after Reed's grant from ESU got cut, someone has to keep us from going completely bankrupt."

"Still, of all the places to work, why Von Doom Industries?" Ben asked.

"Because Victor's always had a soft spot for me, which basically guaranteed me a good position." Sue answered.

Ben chuckled.

"Always the sensible one, eh Susie?"

"At the risk of sounding jealous and obsessive, I've never really appreciated that 'soft spot' he's had for you." Reed admitted.

Sue sighed, taking Reed's hand.

"You have nothing to fear." she promised. "There's nothing between me and Victor, and there never will be."

"I know." Reed replied, the two briefly kissing, much to Ben's shogrin.

"So, when are we headin for the final frontier?" Ben asked.

"We still have six months, so I'll keep you updated." Sue answered. "Gives our engineer time to double check the rocket. Johnny's gonna have a field day."

"Johnny?" Ben repeated. "As in your kid brother?"

"The very same." Sue confirmed. "Just got his degree and he's been eager for a project to occupy his time. He'll need a place to stay while he's working here though."

"He's always welcome at the Baxter Building." Reed offered.

"Thanks Reed." Sue said gratefully.

"I just hope the kid behaves himself." Ben snorted. "Didn't he almost get expelled from MIT because of one of his pranks?"

"Cut him some slack, Ben." Sue insisted. "He was 13. Besides, I think these days, he saves his best pranks for you."

"Lucky me." Ben deadpanned.

…

Six months later, after some intensive training and making sure everything about the mission was in order, the crew was ready for launch. As Ben was getting his things in order, he took out a picture of himself and his fiance, Debbie.

"Miss you already, Deb." He lamented.

"Atten-SHUN!"

Immediately, Ben sprung up and stood at attention, only for the action to be photographed by a blonde haired 16 year old kid with the biggest grin on his face.

"Digital camera, two hundred and forty five dollars. Memory stick, sixty dollars. The look on your face after realizing you just fell for a classic pavlovian response, priceless.

"Haven't changed, have ya kid?" Ben remarked.

"Nope, and I don't plan to." Johnny replied, stowing the camera. "So, you ready to be the first guy from Brooklyn to go to space?"

"More than." Ben replied. "Though I'd be even more ready if I wasn't wearing these stupid suits."

Ben pulled out a blue uniform hanging from his locker, looking beyond puzzled by it.

"Seriously, I don't know if we're supposed to be going to space or doing Swan Lake in these." Ben commented. "Who designed these things?"

"I did." Sue answered, walking into the room in her own suit. "Using Reed's designs of course. The suits function as a synthetic skin, adapting to your body's individual needs."

"Of course." Reed realized. "Self replicating unstable molecules. I've been working on cracking that formula for months."

"Guess all you needed was a second set of eyes." Sue remarked.

"Guess so." Reed replied.

"Ugh," Johnny let out, leaning on the wall. "Can you believe these two?"

"Tell me about it." Ben commented. "How about you two hold off on the lovey dovey stuff until after we get back from space?"

"Right." Reed replied, snapping out of it. "We'd better get going."

"Right." Sue concurred as she passed out their suits.

…

Once everyone was suited up, they boarded the rocket and blasted off. With Ben at the controls, the rocket seamlessly broke free of the atmosphere and soared to the Von Doom Space Station. Once the shuttle docked with the station, the five of them got out of their seats and entered the station.

"What a ride." Johnny let out. "Enjoying yourself so far, Benny boy?

"Well, we ain't dead yet, so yeah." Ben replied. "Who knows, maybe when this is all over, I'll let you ride shotgun back."

"Really?" Johnny let out.

"No." Ben replied bluntly.

Reed and Sue couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'd forgotten how much like brothers those two were." Sue remarked.

"Suppose that makes us the parents." Reed jeered.

Sue chuckled in response.

"I'm gonna get the probes ready." Reed told her before turning to Ben. "Ben, why don't you get ready to set up the samples?"

"Right," Ben agreed. "Come on, kid. You're gonna make sure my suit does what it's supposed to."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow Susan for a moment." Victor told him. "There are some business issues we need to discuss."

Reed paused, a look of anger passed over him as his grip on Sue's hand instinctively tightened. She placed a hand on his shoulder, subtly shaking her head. He sighed, then loosened his grip once more.

"Of course." Reed relented.

He then went off to ready the probes as Victor approached Susan.

"Shall we?" Victor spoke.

…

"So, should I be worried about the obvious way Doctor Doom is creeping on my sister?" Johnny asked as he helped Ben suit up.

"Not a chance." Ben declared. "She's only got eyes for Reed, and you know it."

"It's not Sue I'm worried about." Johnny replied. "It's Victor 'more money than god and handsomest man alive' Von Doom. You know how he feels when it comes to not getting what he wants."

"You forget Susie's 'no nonsense, my way or the highway' shtick." Ben reminded him. "She ain't gonna budge, no matter how hard Doom presses."

"I know, I know." Johnny replied, putting the last touches on the suit. "Doesn't mean I can't worry."

"Nah, it just means you care about your sister." Ben replied. "Now, how about we cut the chit chat and get this done?"

Johnny nodded as he opened the airlock for Ben. Ben stepped inside and after giving one last thumbs up to Johnny, closed the entry door and opened the airlock. Staring straight out into space was as intimidating as it was awe inspiring. Still, it didn't deter Been from his mission. He began moving to put the specimens in place for the coming storm.

…

With Reed, he was putting the last finishing touches on the probes.

"This should do it." Reed said to himself. "Once these are in place, we should be able to-"

Just then, an alert started going off on his computer. He went over to see what was causing it, and the answer was unnerving.

"Solar winds are up by 65%." Reed noted. "Storm in approaching faster than expected. It will hit in… oh no!"

…

Meanwhile, Victor took Sue to the station's observatory, where he intended for the two to talk.

"So what was so important that you had to drag me away from the experiment?" Sue asked.

"We've been working together for a while now." Victor spoke. "And I feel it has been a very beneficial partnership."

"We have gotten a lot of work done, and made our fair share of breakthroughs." Sue admitted.

"Yes, of course." Victor agreed. "But I was thinking of taking things… to a new level."

Sue sighed.

"Victor, I've told you before." she insisted, a weariness in her voice. "Reed and I are happy with each other."

"If I may be so bold, I feel Reed is holding you back." Victor told her. "You're capable of so much more, yet your time is spent trying to keep him off the streets. You deserve someone who can give you the world. Only in my case, I don't mean it as a metaphor."

Victor then pressed a button on a remote, which opened up panels on the ground that revealed the world below them. Despite everything, Sue couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight. Victor then took out a small black box from his pocket and hid it behind his back.

"Certainly something you don't see at an observatory." Victor commented as he walked up to Sue.

"Definitely not." she agreed, her eyes still on the stars.

"This is what I can promise you Sue." Victor told her. "And so much more. All it will take is four words. Four words that will change everything."

"The cloud is accelerating!" Reed's voice called out.

Sue snapped out of her trance as she turned towards Reed and Victor discreetly put the box away.

"A massive solar wind is pushing the cloud towards us at an accelerated rate." Reed told them. "We have minutes instead of hours."

"Ben, he's still setting out the samples." Sue realized in horror

"Then we pull him in and raise the shields." Victor spoke. "We didn't come this far just to crack up at the first mistake."

Reed immediately took off to get Ben, while Victor went to one of the control consoles and began raising the shields.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Sue asked.

"Raising the shields." Victor replied bluntly.

"But everyone's still out there!" Sue exclaimed.

"We can't afford to wait." Victor replied callously.

Sue just wordlessly took off, leaving Victor alone to continue his work.

…

Outside the station, Ben was working on placing the last of the specimens. All he had left was a lone rock when Reed's voice came on the comms.

"_Ben, get back in here!"_

"I ain't done setting up your garden yet, egghead." Ben remarked.

"_Ben, the cloud is heading towards us, right now!" _Reed warned.

"What are you-?" Ben was about to respond before seeing something coming from behind. "Reed, it ain't coming. It's here!"

In front of him was a massive multi-colored cloud of insurmountable energy streaking towards the station at impossible speeds.

From inside, Sue managed to catch up with Reed and Johnny as they saw the same thing.

"He's not gonna make it." Johnny dreaded.

"Ben, you're going to have to jump!" Sue called out.

"_Are you nuts?!" _Ben let out.

"Ben, it's the only way!" Reed told him. "Jump for it!"

Knowing he didn't have a choice, Ben did as instructed, leaping from his platform and across the threshold towards the airlock, with the cloud approaching ever closer.

"Come on, big guy." Johnny let out.

Finally, Ben reached the airlock, but the wave of energy struck him in the back, plastering him against the inner airlock door. The wave burst through the doors, knocking the other three back. Johnny went flying into a gas line, which blew from the impact. Reed fell back into a bunch of samples with water in them, the contents shattering as they hit. Sue was sent flying over near one of the oxygen tanks, which snapped and sent out a stream of air in her face. Ben just collapsed to the ground, the rock samples still in his hand falling to the ground.

…

Back in the observatory, Victor was at his console when the wave of energy hit the room. The panel immediately exploded, knocking Victor into the shield, where he grunted in pain before falling unconscious.

…

Reed meanwhile, managed to muster enough strength to open the doors and pull Ben inside before sealing the airlock. He looked down at Ben in worry and trepidation.

…

Letting out a loud groan, Ben began waking up. Instead of the cold metal interior of the station, he was greeted by wooden walls and heart rate monitors. He could feel himself laying on a comfy bed as he saw Johnny sitting next to him.

"Welcome back, big guy." Johnny greeted. "You had us worried back there."

"Where are we?" Ben asked.

"Hospital in the Appalachian mountains, one of Victor's private facilities." Johnny explained. "Reed managed to get us in an escape pod back to Earth and Victor had us all quarantined."

"Quarantined..." Ben repeated. "Reed? Sue?"

"They're doing alright." Johnny promised. "Sue was a little out of it for a while, but she's doing better."

"And me?" Ben asked.

Johnny remained silent for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"Ben, you gotta understand." Johnny told him. "The doctors and surgeons worked around the clock."

Ben began to panic, then he noticed a mirror sitting on the table.

"Give me the mirror." he requested, reaching for it.

"Ben, you need to give yourself time." Johnny told him.

"Give me the damn mirror!" Ben insisted, taking the mirror.

He finally took a look at himself, only to find that he was the same as he was before.

"I swear, they did everything they could, but they were unable to fix your face." Johnny insisted as he backed towards the door.

He hit the deck just as Ben threw the mirror at him, the frame snapping and the glass shattering on impact.

"You little prick!" Ben shouted. "That was not funny!"

"Just trying to lighten the mood." Johnny replied. "It's been so boring here, and you're the only one who I can pull pranks on!"

"Well next time, wait until after I've been up for more than five seconds after a near death experience!" Ben told him.

"Alright, alright." Johnny conceded. "In all seriousness though, welcome back to the land of the living."

Ben just sighed in response.

"Thanks, kid."

…

Outside, Johnny exited the room as Reed walked past.

"How is he?" Reed asked.

"Well, he threw a mirror at my head when I tried messing with him." Johnny reported. "So, pretty much normal."

"I did warn you he would retaliate." Reed recalled.

Johnny just shrugged, then took a look at Reed.

"Since when are you rocking the grandpa look?" He questioned, tapping the sides of his face just in front of his ears.

Reed looked puzzled for a moment as Johnny walked off. He then looked in a mirror on the wall and saw white hairs gracing the side of his head. He dismissed it for now as he went to check on Sue in her room. Once he entered, he was surprised by the amount of flowers in the room in comparison to his small two flowers in hand. He turned towards the bed to see Sue still sound asleep. Reed just smiled a little as he placed his flowers in a vase on the nightstand next to her.

"Sunflowers." he told her. "Your favorites."

He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, then walked out.

…

Elsewhere, Victor was in a conference call with his board of directors, sporting a fresh bandage across his face.

"_Well I have to hand it to you Victor, you've set a record." _one of the board members commented. "_The biggest stock drop since the Great Depression. We can't even give it away at this point."_

"A minor setback, gentlemen." Victor reassured."I can turn this around. I just need time."

"_You have one week, Victor." _Another board member warned. "_Or we're pulling out."_

…

Inside Johnny's room, he just finished putting on some snow gear before grabbing some snow goggles and a snowboard and heading out. He barely made it out the door before bumping into Ben.

"Oh, hey Ben." Johnny greeted.

"Where the heck are you going?" Ben asked.

"Snowboarding." Johnny answered. "My gran sent my board here, and I mean to make use of it."

"You know we're supposed to be quarantined, right?" Ben reminded. "This ain't a ski resort."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I am in peak human condition,"Johnny told him. "not to mention I'm a 16 year old boy trapped in a hospital with no video games, nothing to read, and nothing to tinker with. To sum it up, I'm bored out of my freaking skull here!"

"You know Suzie's gonna kill you if you try something like this." Ben retorted.

"What Sue doesn't know won't hurt her." Johnny brushed off. "Besides, she's still sleeping, and I know Reed plans on having dinner with her tonight."

"Oh, does he now?" Ben remarked.

"Talk to him about it." he replied, rushing off. "I've got mountains to shred!"

Ben just shook his head in response before heading off to find Reed.

…

Outside in the facilities courtyard, Reed was looking over the balcony when Ben walked up to him.

"How long was I out for?" He asked, earning Reed's attention.

"Three days." Reed replied. "Glad to see you're doing better. How do you feel?"

"Pretty solid, all things considered." Ben confirmed. "Kid tells me you got big plans with Suzie tonight."

Reed smiled in response.

"Actually, I was planning something." He replied, fishing into his pocket.

He pulled out a small box, one that made Ben's eyes go wide.

"You're finally doing it." he gasped.

"After what we just went through, I don't want to waste another minute." Reed told him. "I'm asking her at dinner tonight."

"Well, I'll be sure to make myself scarce then." Ben promised.

He gave Reed a pat on the back, then turned to walk off. He paused for a moment, his stomach gurgling loudly. He held his stomach, looking a bit sick.

"You ok, Ben?" Reed asked.

"Yeah…" Ben replied. "Just a little queasy is all. Think I'm gonna go lie down."

"Need any help?" Reed offered.

"Nah, I'm good." Ben reassured. "Good luck on tonight."

Ben then went off to his room, leaving Reed alone to prepare for his big night.

…

On the mountain, Johnny looked down at the snowy path before him and just smirked in response.

"This is gonna be fun." Johnny remarked, starting to board downhill.

As he rode his board down hill, he quickly weaved around any rocks and obstacles that got in his way. He rode off a nearby rock, spinning mid air as he did so.

"Woo!" he let out.

He saw another nearby rock and rode towards it, using it as a ramp and leaping into the air, doing several flips as he did so. Unbeknownst to him, the more adrenaline that coursed through his body, the hotter he became. Smoke began lifting off his body as small flames licked his coat.

"I am on fire!" He declared as he shredded down the mountain.

As he held out his hand to stabilize himself though, he quickly realized he was literally on fire. His joy melted away into sheer panic as he tried to shake off the flames.

"Holy shit, I'm on fire!" he let out in a panic.

His attention was so distracted that he didn't realize he was steering towards a nearby cliff. As he fell off, he let out a scream of panic. Just then, his entire body burst into flames, rocketing him forward and causing him to crash into the snowbank. The snow extinguished the flames, melting into an impromptu hot tub. Johnny panted, trying to get his bearings as he looked himself over. While the flames were now gone, so were his clothes.

"Aw, man…" He let out.

…

Back with Victor, he was in the middle of setting up a romantic looking candle-lit dinner, arranging everything so it was perfect. As he did, his manservant Leonard went over the fallout of the accident and its effect on the company.

"As soon as we get back into the city, I want you to book interviews with everyone." Victor told him. "We need to get ahead of this before too much word spreads."

"I've already contacted the Journal and Larry King." Leonard informed.

"Excellent." Victor replied. "And until I can get this scar fixed, make sure they only film my right side."

"Actually we could work with it, sir." Leonard suggested. "It could humanize you."

"You say that like it's a good thing." Victor remarked. "Also get in contact with Susan. I have some unfinished business with her."

"Umm… I'm afraid she's already got plans for this evening." Leonard told him.

"Let me guess, Richards?" Victor assumed.

"Yes." Leonard confirmed. "If you don't mind my asking, sir, why her? You could have any other woman you want."

"You just answered your own question." Victor replied.

…

Meanwhile, Reed was sitting down at a table in a dining room as Sue walked up.

"Sue." Reed greeted happily. "How are you?"

"I'm alright." she answered, taking her seat. "What about you?"

"Fine." Reed replied. "Just… a little rattled by all of this. I planned everything to the minute detail. I can't imagine how I could've-"

"Reed, it was a freak accident." Sue assured him. "There was nothing you could have done."

"I know." Reed replied. "Doesn't mean I don't feel a little responsible."

"There's nothing to be responsible for." Sue replied. "We're all alive, and got home in one piece. In no small part to you, I might add."

Reed gave a small nod in agreement.

"Besides, all of us are healthy and alive, and that should count for something."

…

Meanwhile, Ben was standing over the sink in his room, grunting in pain. He was pale, sweating like a pig and grunting hard. As he tried to exit the bathroom, he fell over onto one knee, feeling immense pain coursing through his body.

…

As he and Sue continued talking, Reed discretely moved a hand to his pocket, pulling out a ring.

"Sue, the time we've been together has been the best time of my life." Reed shared.

"They've been the same for me, Reed." Sue replied, smiling warmly.

"When we were up in the space station and everything was going wrong… I was scared of losing everyone." He admitted. "Of losing you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Reed." Sue promised, taking his hand.

He looked up at her and saw something he could barely believe. Her skin was turning transparent, to the point that he could barely make out her face. It just seemed like her clothes and jewelry were just floating in the air. His stunned expression didn't go unnoticed by Sue.

"Reed?" Sue let out. "Reed, what's wrong?"

"Sue, look at your hands." Reed told her.

Sue did so and saw what he was talking about. She was dumbstruck by what she saw that she was completely see through, only a distortion in the light and her own clothes showing she was there. She panicked, jumping to her feet and accidentally knocking over a bottle of wine on the table. Reed reached a hand out to grab it, only for his arm to stretch beyond its usual range and grab it. His arm retracted slowly as Sue returned to the visible spectrum.

"What on…" Sue let out.

Suddenly, Johnny burst into the room, wearing what appeared to be a hastily grabbed towel.

"Guys!" he let out. "You will never believe what happened to me!"

Both Reed and Sue looked at him in surprise.

"Why are you wearing a towel?" Sue questioned.

"Oh, right." Johnny realized. "Funny story about that. I caught on fire and burned my clothes off. Grabbed this from the pool before coming in."

"You were on fire?" Sue repeated, standing up. "How are you not burned?"

"No clue." Johnny admitted. "All I know is one minute, I'm shredding the show, and the next, I'm flaming up like that."

He snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared on his fingers, much to everyone's surprise Johnny stared at it for a moment before snapping his fingers again, the flame dissipating. He did this two more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

"Ok… picture that… but everywhere." Johnny insisted, gesturing to his entire body..

"Reed, do you realize what this means?" Sue asked, turning towards him.

"The cloud has fundamentally altered our DNA." Reed pieced together.

"It's the only explanation." Sue agreed. "Johnny, do you remember what happened to you when we got hit by the cloud?"

"We got hit by that wave of energy and...a gas line blew near me." Johnny recalled. "But I didn't burn up!"

"The cloud must've combined your DNA with the fire." Reed mused. "The water canisters shattered onto me when I got hit."

"Giving your limbs the fluidity of water." Sue deduced. "I was near a ruptured oxygen tank when the cloud hit."

"Allowing you to disappear into thin air." Reed finished.

"So, what happened to Ben?" Johnny questioned. "He got hit more than all of us."

"We have to find him." Reed decided. "Come on!"

…

In Ben's room, he managed to get himself into bed, tossing and turning under the covers. His heart rate was going through the roof as the bed began to creak from an increase in mass.

…

Out in the hallway, the three quickly made their way over to Ben's room, worried for their friend. Upon reaching the door, Reed tried opening it but to no avail.

"It's locked." He let out before knocking on the door. "Ben!"

"We need to get in there!" Sue exclaimed.

"Don't suppose invisibility means you can go through doors." Johnny suggested.

"No, it doesn't!" Sue exclaimed. "Reed, please tell me you have a-!"

Just then, the loud sounds of the bed breaking rand out, causing the three of them to panic.

"Ben!" Sue cried out.

"Maybe I can burn through the door." Johnny suggested.

"And burn down the entire complex along with it?!" Sue exclaimed. "Not a good idea!"

"Well what are we gonna do?!" Johnny replied.

As the two argued, Reed looked down at the door and started getting an idea. He knelt over and placed his hand on the bottom opening of the door. He managed to squeeze his hand through the crack, his fingers and palm flattening as they made their way through. Once his hand was on the other side, he slid it up the door until he got hold of the lock. He quickly unlocked the door, retracting his hand.

"... that is both amazing, and disgusting." Johnny let out.

Before Reed could respond, a loud crash came from inside the room. The three entered to see a massive hole in the wall and Ben nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" Johnny asked.

Sue and Reed looked out the hole trying to catch sight of something.

"There!" Sue called out.

Reed and Johnny looked out and saw a vague silhouette of a man running into the woods around the facility.

"Any idea where he's heading?" Johnny asked.

Reed looked over at the bedside table, catching sight of a photo of Ben and his Fiancee Debbie.

"He's going home." Reed deduced.


	2. Fantastic Part 2

It was the dead of night when a freight train pulled into a New York City train yard. As the train came to a stop, one of the car doors opened up, and a large misshapen figure leapt out. It ran through the yard, staying in the shadows and doing it's best to avoid being seen. Once it was out of the train yard, it made its way to a men's clothing store. It pushed the door open, walking in and approaching the counter.

"Excuse me." the creature said in a voice that sounded like rocks rubbing against one another.

The teller turned towards the voice, only to see the creature before him. The teller then let out a scream of fear before bolting out of the store. The creature watched them go, then sighed.

"Great." he muttered.

The figure grabbed a pair of pants, a coat, and a fedora, leaving some cash on the counter before walking off.

…

After making his way across town, he reached a pay phone and proceeded to walk over to it. When he saw how small the buttons were, he let out a groan of frustration.

"What a revoltin' development this is." he lamented.

Luckily for him, someone had left a pen on the top of the phone. He rolled it into his hand, then used the pen to dial the number he wanted. After a few rings, the line was picked up.

"_Hello?" _A woman's voice spoke.

"Debs?" the creature replied.

"_Ben? Is that you?"_ Debbie asked. "_You sound strange._"

"It's… been a long day." Ben replied. "Listen, think you can come outside?"

"_Are you here, now?" _Debbie questioned.

"Take a look." He remarked.

Just across the street, a light turned on and a curtain was pulled aside. A woman in a blue nightgown looked outside and saw the coat clad figure. She smiled lovingly, knowing who it was.

"_I'll be right down." _She told him. "_I've got a little surprise for you."_

"Yeah," Ben replied. "I got one for you too."

The phone went dead as the woman came out onto the street. She had a robe on as she approached.

"Ben?" she called out.

"Don't come closer." Ben called out from behind a bush. "This… this might come as a shock. Just remember, 'together, forever, no matter what.' right?"

"Yes..." Debbie let out, looking at Ben nervously. "What's going on? You're starting to scare me."

Ben let out a breath before finally stepping out into the light and taking off his hat. Debbie was horrified to see that Ben had been transformed into a man made entirely of orange stone. He had three fingers on each hand, and only vaguely looked human. She stumbled backward, shivering in horror.

"Oh my God..." She gasped. "What are you?"

"Deb, it's me." Ben told her. "It's still Ben. let me explain-"

"No, no!" Debbie cried, backing away. "Stay away from me!"

She quickly turned around and ran away, almost running into an oncoming cab before it hit the brakes. The cabbie watched her scramble into her apartment before turning to Ben.

"Hey, I'm calling the cops!" He shouted.

Ben quickly ducked out of the area before things could get worse.

…

The next day, Reed, Sue, and Johnny arrived at the city. They quickly took a cab over to Debbie's place and saw several cop cars outside her apartment.

"Looks like he was here." Johnny noted.

The three of them got out of the cab and made their way towards the apartment, where Debbie was giving her statement to the police.

"Debbie!" Reed called out, getting her attention.

Debbie turned towards Reed and immediately marched towards him.

"You." She let out, promptly slapping him across the face.

"Hey!" Sue snapped, stepping in front of her. "What was that?"

"What did you do to Ben?!" Debbie demanded.

"Ben's… going through a rough time." Reed tried to explain. "Just give us some time to find him, and we-"

"You turned him into a monster!" Debbie snapped. "I told him you would bring us nothing but trouble, and now Ben's-!"

She choked on her words, turning away. She then slid her engagement ring off her finger.

"When you find him, give him this." she insisted.

"Debbie, please." Reed insisted. "He's still the Ben you fell in love with."

"No, he's not. You made sure of that."

She dropped the ring into his hand, then turned and walked off. Sue walked up to Reed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't take it personally, Reed." She told him. "She's hurting."

"I'm more worried about how Ben's taking this." Johnny spoke up. "He loved Debbie. He's gonna be crushed."

"Then we'd better find him fast." Reed decided.

…

Ben meanwhile, was sitting on top of the Brooklyn Bridge, moping about what happened with Debbie.

"Yeah, Reed, just a few days in space." Ben lamented. "What's the worst that could happen? I'll tell you what the worst that could happen is. Me turning into a monster and Debbie not being able to stand the sight of me."

As he bemoaned his fate, a pigeon landed on him.

"Hey there, little guy." Ben spoke. "You don't think I'm so scary, do ya?"

The pigeon just flew off, leaving a small dropping on his shoulder as he did so.

"Great." Ben lamented, brushing it off. "Thanks."

As he leaned back, he saw a distraught man in a business suit holding a briefcase slowly approaching the edge. The man drops his briefcase, allowing it to fall towards the river below. Ben just rolled his eyes as the man prepared to step over the edge.

"Hey pal." Ben spoke up.

The man turned to Ben, almost shouting in shock when he got a good look at him.

"You think you got problems, pal?" Ben asked. "Take a good look at me, and then talk to me about problems."

"You… you're one of those mutants, aren't you?"

"Nah, just some guy who got the world's worst bad luck." Ben leaned back on one of the steel beams.

"Yeah, right."

"You really wanna debate that? Come on, what was so bad it made you wanna take the ten second exit from life?"

"Well… I lost my job at the office… my wife left me… and my apartment is being foreclosed.

"Ok… that's rough, I'll admit. But still don't seem like reason to end everything."

"I've got nothing left… no reason to live."

"You've got friends, right? Family? People who depend on ya? Bet they'd pretty upset if they heard on the news some fisherman dragged you out of the Hudson."

"I… I guess I didn't think of that."

"Understandable. Look pal, I get what you're going through. The woman I love thinks I'm a monster, but you? You actually have a shot of coming out ok. So why don't we get you down off this bridge and get your life back on track. At least you can still have one."

The man sighed.

"Alright." He got to his feet, then turned to Ben. "You know, maybe it's not too late for you either. I mean, you look scary, but you're a good guy."

"Thanks." Ben replied. "Nice to know there are some decent people out there."

Ben got back to his feet and moved to help the guy down off the bridge. As they moved away from the edge, something seemed to cause the man to trip, causing him to fall towards the road. He quickly grabbed onto a metal beam above the highway as Ben watched on in horror.

"Hang on!" Ben called out. "I'm coming!"

Ben slowly inched his way out on the beam, taking great care with each step. He then reached his hand out towards the man, hoping to pull him back up onto the beam. The man reached his hand towards Ben, hoping to grab hold of his oversized hand. Unfortunately, he lost his grip as he fell onto the streets below, just as a large semi came barrelling towards him. Thinking fast, Ben leapt down onto the street and used his body to block the oncoming truck, totaling it in the process. This unfortunately caused several other cars to pile up behind the truck, causing some to even crash and create a massive traffic jam.

…

On the far side of the bridge, Reed, Sue, and Johnny were in a cab trying to follow Ben's trail from the other night and figure out where he would go next.

"You think Ben really came this way?" Johnny asked.

"It's the only lead we have." Sue reasoned. "I just hope he's ok."

Suddenly, the cab came to a halt, much to the three's surprise.

"What's going on?" Reed asked.

"Some kind of pile up going on." the Cabbie reported, trying to get a look at what was going on. "Hey… I think there's something out there."

The three of them looked at each other in worry before climbing out of the cab. Thinking he could get a better view, Johnny climbed on top of the cab to see farther out on the bridge. As he did so, he caught sight of an orange shape out on the bridge.

"I see something out there!" Johnny called out. "It might be Ben!"

Realizing this, Reed and Sue darted forward, with Johnny following close behind.

…

Back with Ben, he helped the man from before get back to his feet as patrons got out of their cars.

"You alright, pal?" Ben asked.

"Yeah." the man replied, brushing himself off. "Thanks."

"Just wish it didn't make such a mess. You'd better get out of here before the cops show up."

The man nodded before heading off, leaving Ben with a rather large mess to deal with. As he looked around at the sea of people pulling themselves out of their cars with various injuries, he caught notice of the man in the truck he smashed, sporting a massive bruise on his head. Fearing the worst, Ben moved towards him.

…

As Reed, Sue, and Johnny made their way towards Ben, a crowd of curious onlookers started to form. The three of them maneuvered as best they could through the massive amount of people in their way. As they got to the front of the crowd though, the police had started to arrive, forming a barricade around the crowd, preventing them from going further.

"Everyone needs to stay back!" an officer announced. "Please return to your vehicles and we will let you know when you can leave!"

"Officer!" Reed called out. "Officer, you need to let us in."

"I can't do that."

"But we have a friend back there who is suffering from a genetic breakdown. He needs our help."

"I'm sorry sir, but my orders are not to let anyone pass."

"Forget it Reed," Sue told him, pulling him back. "We're not gonna get past these guys. We need another way to get to Ben."

"Maybe you can stretch us over." Johnny suggested.

"We still don't know the extent of our powers," Reed reasoned. "I don't know if I can reach that far."

"How about up there?" Johnny suggested, pointing up to one of the girders. "You can grab that, and swing us up and over."

"Could work…" Reed pondered. "Though I don't know if I can carry both of you over."

"Then don't." Sue reasoned. "You take Johnny over. I can get through on my own."

Sue concentrated for a moment before she finally turned invisible. Unfortunately, her clothing did not disappear along with her.

"Um… Sue, your clothes." Reed pointed out.

"Oh... " Sue let out, realizing what she had to do. "Right."

"I don't wanna see this." Johnny let out, turning around as Sue shrugged off her jacket.

She then proceeded to unbutton her blouse, slipping it off before kicking off her shoes and socks and wriggling out of her pants. She prepared to undo her bra, but stopped when she saw a rather uncomfortable amount of people staring at her. She then turned to Reed, who seemed a little uncomfortable himself.

"What?" she asked, only to look down and see what everyone was looking at.

Her invisibility had worn off, leaving her standing in a populated crown in nothing but her underwear. She yelped in shock before instinctively covering herself.

"What happened?!" Sue let out.

"I… I don't know," Reed admitted, finally turning towards her. "Wow, you've been working out."

"Not now!" She snapped.

…

Back with Ben, he made his way over to the truck and tore off the door, much to the drivers surprise.

"Hey there." Ben greeted. "Sorry about the truck. How about we get you out of here?"

The driver tried to undo his seatbelt, but seemed to have trouble with it.

"Everything alright, there?" Ben asked.

"It's stuck!" the driver let out.

Groaning in response, Ben grabbed hold of the seat and just yanked it right out of the truck. Just as he did that though, several police officers had made their way through the wreck and caught him in the act.

"Freeze!" they yelled, causing Ben to freeze in place. "Put the man in the seat down!"

Not wanting to cause any more trouble than he already had, Ben obliged and slowly put the driver down on the ground.

…

Back with the others, Sue had tried to make herself invisible again, but it seemed to no avail. She grabbed her jacket off the ground to try and cover herself, frustrated about today's turn of events.

"Well this has been a disaster," She remarked.

"I hate to be the one to say it," Reed told her. "But this was your idea."

"Right. Maybe next time, you can strip down and have a hundred people stare at you!"

As Sue fumed, her body started turning invisible again, something Reed quickly caught onto.

"Sue," He spoke up.

"What?!" Sue snapped before looking down and saw her reactivated transparency. "Oh."

Sue then dropped the jacket and continued to undress.

"Reed, think you can make a device that can erase this moment from my memory?" Johnny asked, doing his best not to look.

Her undies dropped to the ground with the rest of her clothes as she disappeared into the crowd.

"Well, that was unsettling," Johnny commented.

"Come on, Reed ushered, scooping up Sue's clothes as Johnny wrapped his arms around Reed's neck.

Reed stretched out an arm up to one of the girders and pulled the two of them upwards.

…

"Alright, take it easy," Been insisted. "I don't want any trouble."

"Just put your hands over your head!" the cop ordered.

Before Ben could make another move, one of the cars suddenly exploded, catching fire and giving Ben the chance to get out of there. People began scrambling for cover, trying to shield themselves from the blast, the police included.

"Go after him!" one of the cops ordered. "I got this guy"!

The cops nodded, then took off after Ben.

…

Meanwhile, Reed and Johnny had managed to get past the blockade, Sue putting on her clothes after rejoining them.

"I can't believe I actually did that."

"That makes two of us," Johnny commented.

"We'll worry about it later," Reed insisted. "Let's just find Ben."

The three of them quickly got to work, making their way through the wreck in an attempt to find Ben. Sue leapt onto one the cars to get a better look.

"Ben!" She called out.

Just then, Ben came out from one of the cars, coming in full view of the three. All three stopped in their tracks, even wise-cracking Johnny finding himself at a loss for words.

"Ben…" Reed let out in shock. "Oh my god…"

"Hey guys," Ben greeted, trying to sound nonchalant. "Some day, huh?"

"Man..." Johnny let out, Debby's reaction now hitting home for him. "I am so sorry..."

Before anything else could be said, the fire from the wrecked car had reached some toppled over gas tanks, causing a massive explosion that shook the bridge. The explosion began to extend towards the group, prompting Sue to act. Without knowing how, she managed to summon a large, barely visible forcefield that engulfed the explosion, keeping it at bay. She didn't quite know how she was doing this, but she was very grateful it was working.

Unfortunately, while Sue was doing that, an oncoming fire truck came down the bridge to try and help with the fire. When the explosion went off, the force of it sent them spinning out of control and almost off of the bridge. They snapped several more of the support cables, the truck ending up halfway off the bridge with its ladder extended all the way.. Some of the firemen clung to the ladder for dear life, one holding onto the very last step, dangling over the river below.

"Help!" One of them shouted!

Ben looked at the truck, which was already beginning to tip. Recalling how he'd been able to literally rip trucks apart, he steeled himself and moved to the front of the truck. Planting his feet, he grabbed the truck by its front bumper, using every ounce of his strength to keep it from falling. As the truck teetered, one of the girders broke loose and began falling to one of the dangling firemen. Seeing this, Johnny quickly tried to think of something. With only a flimsy idea in mind, Johnny snapped his fingers, creating a small flame and actually threw it at the falling girder, knocking it away.

"Yes!" He punched the air. "I can't believe that worked!"

Suddenly, one of the firemen lost his grip on the truck and began falling. He fell about ten feet before he was grabbed by Reed. Reed had literally wrapped his body around part of the bridge, stretching himself out as far as he could before reeling himself back in.

"Don't worry!" Reed called out. "I got you!"

Ben meanwhile continued pulling the truck back onto the street, his feet literally cracking the asphalt from the amount of pressure he was under. Finally, he got the whole truck back onto the bridge, allowing the firemen to drop down safely to the ground. The second the truck was secure, Ben stepped back and took a breath, suddenly set upon by several police officers.

"Hands in the air, freak!"

"Aw, great…" Ben let out.

"Wait!"

Ben and the cops turned to see the man Ben had saved earlier running out, getting between him and the police.

"This man saved my life!" He insisted. "He just saved all those firefighters! This man is a hero, not a monster!"

Slowly, the crowds joined in with the man, insisting that Ben was a hero. Eventually, the cops lowered their guns, seeing no reason to pursue the matter further. Reed meanwhile finally managed to reach Ben, meeting his friend's eye.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Ben didn't answer, shaking his head and looking down.

"Debs…. She was afraid of me..."

Reed just put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I promise, I will do whatever it takes to fix this. No matter what, you will be Ben Grimm again."

Ben just let out a sigh, his face showing his hopelessness.

…

Later, the four regrouped in a medical tent, with Ben just sitting by himself feeling melancholy. Johnny sat next to him, looking surprisingly stoic. He held out his hand, which had Debbie's ring in it.

"Reed wanted you to have this."

Been took it, feeling even worse as he crushed it in his hand. Johnny couldn't help but feel for the guy.

"Hey, it's gonna be ok. Reed's gonna fix you."

"Why are you being all chummy? I thought you'd be having a blast making fun of me."

"Dude… I'm a joker, not a jackass."

Ben smirked a little before returning to his gloomy demeanor.

"But if you want me to joke, I was wondering where your ears were," Johnny remarked in a good naturedly. "I see some ear shaped rocks on the side of your head… I wonder."

He reached over and covered said rocks.

"Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ben replied, shoving him aside. "Though right now I wish I couldn't."

Johnny removed his hands.

"Sorry, was legit trying to lighten the mood."  
"... I know, kid. Sorry."

As the two just talked with one another, an M.D. looked over Sue. As he finished up, one of the firemen from earlier approached the group.

"Hey, there are some people out there who want a word with you."

"Uh, no," Reed decided. "We're not prepared to go public with this."

"Think it's a little too late for that."

The fireman turned on a TV, showing a report of the entire incident of the bridge. It took note of their individual acts of heroism and described their powers with surprising detail, calling them the Fantastic Four.

"You guys are big news. Everyone wants to know more."

"The Fantastic Four, huh?" Johnny read off. "I like the sound of that."

"Johnny, we're scientists,: Sue insisted. "Not celebrities."

"We can be both. I know Ben wouldn't be into it, but as long as we've got these powers, why not do some good with them. Could be fun."

"I have to admit, Johnny does make a good point," Reed conceded. "We have been given… extraordinary gifts, and while the cause may have been messy, today showed how we can best use them. I say it's at least worth a try."

"If it'll get the cops to stop trying to shoot me, I'll give it a shot," Ben decided.

"Well, if everyone else is on board, then so am I," Sue agreed.

"Then we're all in agreement," Reed noted. "I guess it's time to meet the press."

"Guess so," Sue agreed as they all walked out.

Together, the four walked out into the group of reporters, all of them clamoring with questions. As they all spoke up, one question was a bit clearer than the rest.

"Which one of you is the leader?!" One reporter asked.

"This guy right here," Johnny declared, slapping Reed on the back. "Dr. Reed Richards!"

"I, uh… suppose so."

"How did your group acquire their powers?" another reporter asked. "Is this another case of genetic mutation?"

"No," Reed answered. "During a recent mission to the Von Doom space station, the four of us were exposed to unknown cosmic radiation."

"Radiation?" One reporter asked. "Are you radioactive?"

"Is it permanent?"

"We don't know anything yet," Reed answered. "There are still things about our abilities even we don't know yet. We plan to learn more before engaging in further heroism so as to not endanger the city and its people."

…

Across the city, sitting in his penthouse home, Victor von Doom watched the broadcast with surprise and curiosity. His gaze slowly shifted into that of anger as the broadcast continued, with the crowds loving the Fantastic Four more by the moment.

"Heroes… they're seen as heroes..."

He slammed his fist down on a table, denting it hard. He blinked, looking down at the table before lifting his hand. To his horror, the skin on his knuckles had been peeled off, revealing metal knuckles underneath.

"What the hell…?"

…

Elsewhere, someone else was watching the Fantastic Four's grand appearance with a much different reaction.

"It was supposed to be my work they would report on, not these freaks. All the same, at least this proves it works."

The man turned to a pile of glowing clay on a table, picking it up and beginning to sculpt.

"This was just the first step. Before long, every person in the city will be my puppet."

He began carefully working on four different sculptures, a malicious glint in his eye.


End file.
